World View Enterprises, an Arizona-based space travel company, plans to offer trips to the edge of space in capsules lifted by high altitude balloons. The capsule will hold eight people and the balloons can reach a height of 30 kilometers (20 miles). With commercial flights only reaching an average height of ten kilometers above ground, capsule passengers will be able to see the curvature of the Earth and a blanket of stars. Tickets are valued at $75,000 each. With component testing already complete and sub-scale testing to be carried out soon, the first flight is set for 2016...

U.S. Company to Offer Balloon Flights to Space

World View Enterprises, an Arizona-based space travel company, plans to offer trips to the edge of space in capsules lifted by high altitude balloons. The capsule will hold eight people and the balloons can reach a height of 30 kilometers (20 miles). With commercial flights only reaching an average height of ten kilometers above ground, capsule passengers will be able to see the curvature of the Earth and a blanket of stars. Tickets are valued at $75,000 each. With component testing already complete and sub-scale testing to be carried out soon, the first flight is set for 2016. By Jordan Moses